I idly looked at the results of the RS200 SE travellers series because we hosted the last one, and was struck by how few boats (4 from I think 95) had actually done enough events (3 from 6) not to count a DNC. Looking at their other series the pattern is much the same (other than SW which had a few more).

The much hyped Sailjuice series (4 from 7) is a bit difficult to read, but looks like 48 from 650 which I suppose is marginally better. Its hard, though, to avoid the conclusion that most folks don't care about travellers' series. Back when I was doing winter events regularly, long before any series, I would guess we usually did more than half of the major events anyway, which back then I guess were Grafham, QM, Pompey, Rutland.

So, do travellers' series bring anything to the party for you? Do you make a special attempt to try and get a series in?

To complete a series you need a very predictable weekly routine. Increasingly this is becoming less and less so; and especially amongst the demographic that makes up the RS200 fleet. More people work weekends, or weekends are more often taken up by other commitments (weddings / stag or hens/ christenings / birthday parties). This is especially true of younger people, and the RS200 draws heavily from the uni / post uni demographic / young family.

The other problem the RS200 class has, is that it also has some very strong local clubs. For many who are strapped for cash it's cheaper to join a strong local club and race against 10-15 boats rather than travel further to race against 20-30.

On the other hand, my impression is that weeknight series do see a regular participation. People are more likely to have a set routine on a weekday that means if they can make one week, they'll likely be able to make the next. I regularly complete a Wednesday evening series.

In terms of weekend events, both club and open, we are seeing a move away from 'series' to one off events. The RS classes have several on off events like: end of seasons, inlands, nationals, eurocup, sprints, winter champs.

At our club we turned Saturday racing in to one off 'bottle races' as the series were almost always decided by number of races completed. Classes which have a more predictable turnout can still pull out results to score a series. We also hold sprint racing once a month, which concentrates participation on a specif days to give a better experience. This move seems to have provided more meaningful competition than the old Saturday series did.

Fundamental changes to modern lifestyles as highlighted above simply means that the number of people willing to trail their boat around to sail against others is in heavy decline. Also - some clubs view visitors clogging up the facilities as a nuisance and add to that all the volunteers you need to find to host an open for a handful of visitors and what have you got?

The national attendance table is great; I wonder what an open meeting attendance table would look like.?

Personally I’ve felt the Sail Juice series has essentially ruined what we’re great stand alone events historically. Maybe it’s been the controversies (little ‘c’) over the years which take the shine off them, but either way none now appeal whereas some of them used to.

How ? You can take part in any one, or more, of the events in isolation. Don't want to take part in a series ? ... well don't ! no difference to a club series really is it ... you simply do the ones you want to do if you are not bothered about a series.

The 'great standalone' events are still simply that - except for the series spreadsheet.. but SJ must be doing something right overall as many, if not all, of the events now max out in terms of numbers.

Maybe inclusion of an open meeting in a travellers series or Sailjuice is sufficient to ensure the quality of the competition is sufficient to get out of bed for ... completion of a travellers series is not that important.

In the past I have noticed that qualifiers tend to come from clubs where there are not strong fleets, so the travellers series is really more of a travelling club.

Personally I’ve felt the Sail Juice series has essentially ruined what we’re great stand alone events historically. Maybe it’s been the controversies (little ‘c’) over the years which take the shine off them, but either way none now appeal whereas some of them used to.

The generous sponsorship from Gul helps the N12 traveller series. Every year turnout is high at Burghfield, but there is a big 12 fleet based there. Salcombe is popular and also RHYC can be. We tried new venues like Stokes Bay but didn't get more than 10.

Yet 26 entries last weekend to our inlands and final traveller series at Northampton and the OKs who joined us had similar numbers. Why won't people travel to an open in July but are willing to camp and sail in the cold in November?

None of the events are forced to join the Series, and we have a waiting list of others wanting to get involved. The events have seen a growth in profile and numbers over recent years, even the Bloody Mary was seeing sub 100 boats before SJ.

Even those who cannot afford the time (or expense) of competing in multiple events, benefit from a rise in quality for individual events, and can contribute to awards such as Top Class and Top Club rankings

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